Robert Crandall, the combative airline chief of AMR/American Airlines, has announced his retirement after 25 years with the carrier. Crandall hands over control of American on 20 May to Donald Carty, who was named company president three years ago.
Crandall joined American in 1973 as senior vice-president for finance, becoming chairman and chief executive (CEO) of parent AMR group in 1985.
Capt Richard LaVoy, head of the Allied Pilots Association, says that his old adversary "deserves credit for steering American Airlines through a rocky period when many other established carriers failed". Although Carty's style differs from that of his predecessor, La Voy expects that Carty "will likewise prove to be a tough, bottom-line oriented CEO".
Source: Flight International
